Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 446,305 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,480 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.19% of PPG Industries worth $51,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PUREfi Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $279,000. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $868,000. JGP Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,050,000. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth $2,944,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $617,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,240,835.55. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of PPG stock opened at $107.32 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.23. The company has a market cap of $24.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $105.64 and a 12-month high of $145.61.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. On average, equities analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on PPG. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus cut shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPG Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.15.

PPG Industries Profile

PPG Industries, Inc manufactures and distributes paints, coatings, and specialty materials in the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Industrial Coatings. The Performance Coatings segment offers coatings, solvents, adhesives, sealants, sundries, and software for automotive and commercial transport/fleet repair and refurbishing, light industrial coatings, and specialty coatings for signs; wood stains; paints, thermoplastics, pavement marking products, and other advanced technologies for pavement marking for government, commercial infrastructure, painting, and maintenance contractors; and coatings, sealants, transparencies, transparent armor, adhesives, engineered materials, and packaging and chemical management services for commercial, military, regional jet, and general aviation aircraft.